Above the Roar

Contributing To This Entry

Energetic regularfooter from Waikiki, Hawaii; often recalled as the best high-performance surfer of the 1930s and '40s; winner of the Makaha International in 1955; a senior surfing icon in the '90s and '00s. "Rabbit is the living link," as Longboard magazine put it in 1998, "to surfing's entire modern history."

Kekai was born (1920) and raised in Waikiki, began surfing at age five, and was later given informal instruction by pioneering surfer and gold medal swimmer Duke Kahanamoku. Kekai ear...